Over the past five months expert bartenders from India’s finest hotels and pubs were competing and showing off their spirit-ed skills to be crowned the best in the country and go on to compete against international cocktail kings in Brazil. And the timing to stir up the winning cocktail couldn’t have been better than a sweltering May afternoon.

Devendra Sehgal with his trophy after creating the winning cocktail — Sequel Eighteen 24. Pic/ Mahesh Chafe